Frozen Fallout
by HeavenlyPanda
Summary: Arendelle has lived prosperously under the reign of Queen Anna. The lakeside town is a hub for trade and even the poorest want for nothing. Anna and Elsa have managed thus far without anymore mortal endangering adventures and they'd like to keep it that way. But when a new threat from the South arrives in Arendelle, the stakes are even higher as both sisters have more to lose.


**Anna's POV**

Anna watched with bated breath as the horses raced past their stand for the final time. Each one closing in for the last lap around the track. Her eyes were glued on one of the two riders in the lead. The small-statured jockey had dirty blond hair that was recklessly being tossed by the wind. From where she sat, Anna couldn't see the determined face of her daughter but she knew that familiar look. It was one she saw on Elsa's face whenever she was trying to solve a problem.

The two jockeys in the lead were neck and neck, each pulling ahead of the other racers. It would be a tight race up until the very last seconds. Both horses were equally as fast and both jockeys seemed just as experienced.

"Relax Anna," Kristoff chided as he gently pried her grip off his arm. "You know Adrian's got this and Rain Dance is one of the fastest horses in the north." Anna loosened her grip slightly giving him an apologetic look. She couldn't stop the rush of anxiety every time she watched Adrian race. There was always a sense of thrill mixed with fear at the unknown outcome of the sporting event.

"I know, it's just hard to stop myself from feeling stressed about this," Anna uttered. "I want to cheer for her but she says it's embarrassing. I wanted to make a sign but she says that's also embarrassing. Is there anything that I do that's not embarrassing to her?"

"I think that's unofficially part of the parenting job," Elsa added from where she sat. "She won't care about it in ten years from now."

"That's easy for you to say," Anna countered. "You have the title of 'the cool aunt'."

"I think the more appropriate title is, 'the aunt with the cool horse'," Elsa laughed.

"And my title is 'the Chef de Cabinet'," Olaf chimed in.

"Olaf!" Anna uttered in surprise. "Where did you learn that?"

"From your very vast library," Olaf replied. "If you ever need a speech, political advice, a diplomatic ambassador. I'm your snowman."

After those few moments of reprieve from stress, Anna's eyes were drawn back to the race and it all came rushing back to her. The two riders had now completely broken free from the rest of the pack and were flying down the track towards the finish line. Both were neck and neck and Anna wanted to jump up and start cheering but she knew that would only distract Adrian. Instead, she sat quietly trying to look cool and composed on the outside. Inwardly, she was screaming and cheering for Adrian.

Like the flip of a switch, Anna watched as Adrian nudged Rain Dance into high gear. The final sprint was in sight as the two racehorses rounded the final corner. Mirroring Adrian's move, the rival jockey sped up and the small head start Adrian had slowly begun to diminish.

"No, no, no…" Kristoff muttered as he stared on in disbelief. "Come on Adrian!" Anna too was starting to feel the anxiety bubble up within her as she looked on. The end of the race was mere moments away when Anna saw once again, the legendary speed of Rain Dance. Anna watched as Adrian tucked herself closer to Rain Dance as the two began to speed up once more.

Anna couldn't contain herself anymore as she let out a cheer for Adrian who had once again managed to surprise everyone with the speed of her horse. The finish line was crossed and Anna knew Adrian would berate her for cheering later on but right now she was too happy to care.

* * *

**Elsa's POV**

The party was in full swing when Elsa snuck in through a side door. The familiar ballroom was filled with people she did not recognize and yet she no longer felt out of her comfort. Maybe it was due to how much she had grown in the past years. Or maybe it was due to the fact that she no longer was obligated to talk to any of them.

She smiled politely to those she passed as she made her way through the crowd towards her sister and niece. The music was lively as ever and she was slightly surprised that Anna wasn't dancing with Kristoff yet. Although, she did have to admit that Kristoff was not exactly the best dancer. He tried though.

"Elsa!" Came the excited voice of her niece, Adrian. She was met with a hug as the young princess greeted her enthusiastically. "It's so great that you could come. Did you like the sporting event?"

"I did, wherever did you learn horsemanship so amazingly?" Elsa said. "Whoever taught you must have been a real pro."

"Tell that to Kristoff," Adrian continued. "He's the real pro around Arendelle. Too bad he's too old to participate in events." At the sound of his name, Kristoff who had been greeting another couple glanced towards Elsa and Adrian with a slightly disgruntled look.

"I'm not that old," he hollered from the other side of the ballroom. That set the two of them off chuckling as Elsa finally made it to the front of the ballroom.

While she waited politely for Anna's attention to be drawn away from a few delegates, her eyes scanned the room again. She found the food and refreshments table in the far corner and the sight of the chocolate fountain had her mouth watering. She spotted the familiar fiery mop of bright orange hair that belonged to Benjamin, her nephew near the table. He was dipping what appeared to be a forkful of mashed potatoes into the fountain. She wrinkled her nose at that and decided she might sneak into the kitchens later at night to get her own chocolate.

To the left and elevated slightly on a small stage was the band that had now switched into a lively jig with the fiddle taking the main spotlight. Dancers spread across the ballroom as they twirled and swayed to the music which guided their every move. At the end of the song an applause erupted queuing the start of a new one.

But something was missing.

"Adrian?" Elsa called after her eldest niece. "Where is Diana?"

"Is my little sister being antisocial again? I told her to come down and at least greet the guest," Adrian sighed slightly exasperated. "Do you need me to go get her?"

"No it's fine, you enjoy your own celebration party," Elsa said with a smile. "That was a well deserved win." At that compliment, Adrian beamed at Elsa.

"Does that mean I'm good enough to be able to ride Nokk?" She asked a little too hopefully. Not wanting to dash Adrian's hopes all together, Elsa paused for a second to consider how she would reply.

"Riding Nokk is not about the amount of skill and experience you have with horsemanship," she gently chided. "Maybe one day." That seemed to satisfy Adrian for now and she hopped down towards the dance floor before pausing and turning back to Elsa.

"Diana's probably up in the east tower with that looking glass thing of hers," Adrian provided. "She says it's to study the stars or whatever. She's usually there whenever big gatherings or parties happen."

* * *

**Diana's POV**

Diana glanced down at the book she was trying to read. The pages were a blurry mess without her lornette's or the monocle Kristoff had gotten her. Where had she placed her lornette's? She patted around the desk searching for them when she suddenly remembered.

Reaching her hands up to check, she felt the lorgnettes resting atop her head like a pencil perched behind the ear. She sighed. Why did she have to be so stupid sometimes? Especially in front of others? If she wasn't forgetting something, she was probably having a clumsy spell. And if she wasn't being clumsy she was probably having a socially awkward spell. There seemed to be no end in sight and her quirky interests also did not help her in acting normal around others.

Grabbing the lorgnettes and positioning them, she glanced down at the book once more which had nicely cleared up. Within the light of her small candle and the clear blue moon shining in from the window, she read.

Behind her sat many instruments, all of which she had learned to use at some point in time. Currently, the telescope was the most popular instrument. It sat near the window positioned to point towards the sky. Unfurled along the desk was an incomplete mapping of the skies which Diana had been working on ever since she had gotten the telescope for her birthday. Other maps had been pushed aside and strewn across the floor. Sure, the place looked like a mess but to her it was organized.

A soft knock came from the door and Diana paused.

"Come in," she called out. To her surprise Elsa walked in. Diana straightened up as she swept her cascading, wavy brown hair behind her once more. She watched as Elsa's gaze swept across the room and then towards the telescope and back to her. Conscious that she was still holding the lorgnettes in her hands, Diana quickly swept them under the map on her desk. "Elsa, you surprised me. I didn't think anyone would come up here."

Elsa gave her a small smile as she looked around the room once more. She walked towards Diana's desk which made Diana want to hide everything on it but she couldn't. Instead, she stood back holding in a small breath as her brows furrowed with tension. She wasn't sure what Elsa would think of her work. Compared to Elsa's own achievements, hers seemed like child's play.

"Wow, did you make these?" Elsa gasped in wonder. She scanned the map laying on Diana's desk as her fingers hovered over the constellations she recognized. Diana hurried over to Elsa's side and she too gazed at her own work. She winced as she noticed that some of the earlier constellations she had mapped were slightly off. She would fix those later.

"I did… sort of. It's not finished yet," she said.

"It's beautiful." Diana blinked at that.

"I suppose so…" She trailed off but as an afterthought, she quickly added. "Thank you."

"Diana these truly are amazing, up with the Northuldra I see these every night!" Elsa exclaimed. "I should show you them when you come up." Diana couldn't help the small grin that grew into a smile on her face. The thought of discussing astronomy with Elsa and watching the northern stars excited her and she nodded.

"I would very much enjoy that."

"Then it's decided," Elsa said. "Just let me know when you're coming. On a separate note, I notice you're wearing your ball gown? Is that the proper attire of a scientist?" Diana let out a small giggle at that as she too realized how ridiculous it was to be working in such a dusty room with nice clothes on.

"It never hurts to be stylish on the job," Diana joked. She felt her face redden at that but relaxed as Elsa let out a laugh.

"That is true," Elsa remarked. "Aside from coming up here to see your amazing astronomy skills, I was also wondering whether you'd join the party downstairs for the last bit?"

"I…" Diana hesitated at that. Deep down, she knew that it would be proper custom for her to attend and it would be considered rude if she didn't show her face. But more pressing matters were bothering her at the moment. She had to fix her map and continue working diligently at it to increase its accuracy. There was also the fact that she just didn't like parties and large gatherings.

"There's chocolate," Elsa coaxed. She did enjoy chocolate though. With a heavy sigh, Diana nodded. She could brave a few delegates and foreign princes for some chocolate.

* * *

**Adrian's POV**

"-and juzt before ze tiger could grasp me in its jaws of death, I wrenched my sword out of ze elephant and plunged its down ze throat of ze beast, up to ze armz and all!" The French delegate said as he twirled Adrian around him. The two had been dancing for a couple songs but Adrian would make sure this one was their last. She had heard enough about his adventures and killing tigers in the most random of places.

"Well I'm sure you have a lot of trophies," she uttered, batting her eyelashes. "Not to mention a few rare tradable goods I'm sure?"

"Oh, I do," the french delegate nodded quickly. "Itz would be my greatest pleasure to show you the many warehouses I have."

"And it would be my greatest pleasure to see them too but unfortunately a sea divides us," Adrian remarked sadly. _Thank goodness a sea divides us._

"Ah yes," the delegate remarked sadly as if they were both in a funeral. "Alas, we are divided by land and sea."

"When you open up trade with us I'm sure we may see each other again," Adrian whispered as she leaned closer to the man's face.

"Of course my love," he replied. Adrian had to force herself not to wrinkle her nose in disgust and blow her cover. "Anything for you."

"I await your return with word of trade then," Adrian sighed as she backed away from him. "Until then…" She racked her brains trying to remember the delegate's name but nothing came up. Swiftly turning around, she marched away trying to hide the laughter that was bubbling up inside her.

Some of these delegates were so gullible and desperate. All she had to do was show them an ounce of interest and they fell hook, line, and sinker for her trap. Each one was only interested in the potential of becoming king consort and she used that to her advantage. It had brought Arendelle some interesting trade partners but beneficial nonetheless.

She made her way to the refreshment tables to see that the chocolate fountain was being replaced once more. It had probably been the third time Benjamin had clogged the machine with mashed potatoes and he was currently being admonished by one of the maids.

"I didn't mean to," he whined slightly as his shoulders slumped. He was looking down at the ground and Adrian almost felt bad for the little trickster. He was her little brother after all and she knew how mischievous he was.

"Benji," Adrian called out to him and he perked up. "Have you been putting mashed potatoes in the chocolate fondue again?" She watched as his babyish face turned red once more and she inwardly smiled. He was small for his age but his quick mind and speed made up for that. He was quite the handful and reminded her of herself when she was younger.

"No…" He trailed off as his eyes darted everywhere but her face. She raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip. "Ok, maybe…" She waited a tiny bit.

"Fine," he sighed with a grumble. "Yeah, I was."

"Then apologize to the staff who have to clean up your mistake," Adrian ordered gently. She watched as Benjamin turned to the maid who smiled at her gratefully and mumbled his apology.

"There, now don't go putting mashed potatoes in the chocolate fondue, that's gross," Adrian remarked.

"No, it's not!"

"Yes, it is."

"No!"

She rolled her eyes at their childish behavior together but couldn't help but smile. No matter how queenly she became in her older years, she would still banter with her little brother like this. She promised herself that.

Her eyes were briefly drawn to the small side door that Elsa had come through earlier this evening. Again, Elsa snuck in but this time pulling her little sister along with her. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Benjamin with a smile.

"Now why don't you go bother Diana for a while," she suggested. "You've had more than enough sugar to last a lifetime and you don't need anymore." With that, she gave him a small shove in Elsa and Diana's direction and watched as he ran off to find them. Life in Arendelle was good. Elsa would be staying here for a while and so she could continue to ask about Nokk. There was a steady stream of trade flowing in and out of Arendelle which brought new faces every day. She sighed happily knowing that everything she loved was safe and secure.


End file.
